September 2, 2008

High-Speed Internet Best for Business

Coventry Best for Business (B4B) has signed a three-year deal with one of the UK's leading internet providers to power the city's broadband service.

BT Lynx will supply the high-speed internet, which will be available to all Coventry B4B Business Improvement District (BID) levy payers, at no additional cost to the levy.

The new venture is part of a pounds 10 million infrastructure project between Coventry B4B and Coventry City Council and will make the city the only place in the country to provide all its BID businesses with high speed internet. It is set to go live in phases later this year.

The network will offer an internet speed of 8Mb per second - which could be up to 16 times faster for some businesses in the city. For instance, Binley Business Park and Westwood Business Park have internet speeds of just 0.5Mb per second at present.

The BT Lynx infrastructure will also ensure that internet connection remains quick at the busiest of times. A standard connection shares one line between 80 users, while the BT Lynx connection has just 20 users to one line.

Mark Riddy, business development manager for BT Lynx, said: "We have completed various massive deals globally and in the UK - but this is the first time we have provided internet to a whole city.

"Small, medium and large businesses are all dependent on high speed bandwidth.

Ninety nine per cent of companies communicate through email and so the benefits are immense.

"This has been an exciting project for both BT Lynx and the BID and we believe Coventry B4B's framework could be a model replicated in cities everywhere in the UK."

Bob Phelps, project officer for Coventry B4B, said: "For businesses to thrive in the 21st century, they need to have high- speed internet access. This landmark deal will enable Coventry's business community to stay one step ahead of the competition.

"Although many companies are already reaping the benefits of the internet, a lot are still not maximising its potential as a tool to create new business and optimise efficiency.

"This is one of our major projects and we believe it will have immeasurable benefits for Coventry's businesses."